


The One with the Love Spell

by out_there



Category: Merlin (BBC)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-23
Updated: 2009-06-23
Packaged: 2017-10-07 16:26:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/66917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/out_there/pseuds/out_there
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You know, Merlin," Gaius said, with the expression that meant he wondered if Merlin really was mentally damaged, "I didn't give you the book so you could cast a love spell on the Crown Prince."</p>
            </blockquote>





	The One with the Love Spell

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [](http://celli.livejournal.com/profile)[**celli**](http://celli.livejournal.com/) for audiencing and [](http://oxoniensis.livejournal.com/profile)[**oxoniensis**](http://oxoniensis.livejournal.com/) for betaing.

The object of the love spell was supposed to be Morgana. And it was supposed to be temporary. And, really, Arthur deserved it.

These were the things Merlin tried to stress as he explained the situation to Gaius.

"You know, Merlin," Gaius said, with the expression that meant he wondered if Merlin really was mentally damaged, "I didn't give you the book so you could cast a love spell on the Crown Prince."

"Well, no, and, um, I know that. Really, I do. But Arthur--"

"A love spell," Gaius repeated. "On the Crown Prince of Camelot."

"You saw the way he was talking to Morgana! He lost the bet with her and he was supposed to attend the feast with her, and he was being a complete prat about it. Morgana was upset and taking it out on Gwen, and it's really not fair that Arthur's making Gwen's life miserable," Merlin finished, with a wave of his hand.

Gaius didn't seem convinced.

In fact, Gaius just kept frowning as if Merlin had done something really stupid -- which, in hindsight, he might have -- and said, "You thought a love spell would fix the problem?"

Merlin scratched at the back of his neck. He wrapped his fingers in his collar and took a deep breath. "The pages of the book were stuck together."

"How does that justify this ridiculous mess of yours?"

"Well," Merlin said, and forced his hand down before he pulled a seam open, "the second page said the effects lasted four hours. So I thought it would do Arthur good to be nice to Morgana during the feast. He'd be charming and polite to her -- it's Arthur but with magic, like a lot of magic, he's probably capable of being nice -- and then it would all work out."

Gaius raised an eyebrow and echoed slowly, "It would work out?"

"Arthur would wake up the next morning and be embarrassed and humiliated, and it would teach him a lesson. And Morgana would stop being so annoyed and Gwen would be happy. It'd all be perfect." Merlin's words were starting to blur together, so he took another breath and stole one guilty look at the book. The book that had betrayed him. "It would have been great, except the pages were stuck together."

"So the enchantment you cast over the Crown Prince of Camelot," Gaius really seemed focused on that point, "the one that was supposed to make him fall in love with Morgana for four hours, how does it actually work?"

Merlin grimaced. "It makes the enchanted fall in love with the spellcaster?"

Gaius sighed long and deep. He closed his eyes as if looking at Merlin was just too much at the moment, and then asked gently, "How long does it last?"

"Three weeks," Merlin said miserably.

"Are you sure the spell worked? Arthur didn't seem affected at the feast."

"Arthur might have been his annoying self throughout the feast. I mean, Morgana spent most of the night on the opposite side of the room but you wouldn't believe the way he--" Merlin snapped his mouth shut, suddenly thinking better of confessing to Gaius that the Crown Prince had grinned over a goblet of wine, and then tried to order Merlin to sit in his lap.

"It worked," Merlin finished instead, choosing not to explain that he'd thought it was some kind of joke -- Arthur being an ass as usual -- until there'd been kissing and hands curved around his neck, and then Arthur's hand sliding up his thigh. Which was when Merlin got a sinking feeling and remembered the spell, and blurted out an excuse of having a terribly contagious rash. Then he ran down to find Gaius. "And possibly it's not so much a love spell as a desire spell. I think."

"I fail to see the difference between a spell for love and one for-- Oh." Gaius blinked. Then he said, "Oh," again, and then, "Oh, my."

"It's not as bad as you think," Merlin tried brightly. "I mean, it's not like... um. Okay, it's just as bad as you think."

"Maybe," Gaius said, and then cleared his throat, "there's an antidote?"

"The book specifically says, on that page that was stuck together," Merlin added, glaring at the book, "that it can't be undone by sword or magic. Although I don't know why a sword would be mentioned. I don't think stabbing someone's a usual way to deal with magical... lust."

Gaius looked up at the corner of the ceiling and said, "It's a euphemism."

"The sword? But-- oh! Sword as in..." Merlin said, waving one hand to gesture and quickly dropping it to his side. "Ah."

There was a moment of silence. Gaius was staring up, looking unhealthily red in the face, so Merlin decided to stare at the book that had caused this.

Eventually, Merlin said, "So, um, satisfying the... desire... wouldn't fix this?"

"Not until three weeks had passed. These spells are difficult to perform and they do have a reputation of being harder to break."

"I really thought it would only last for four hours," Merlin said, and Gaius shot him a reprimanding look.

"The Crown Prince of Camelot," Gaius said with weary resignation. "Really, Merlin, how you get yourself into these situations is beyond me. You certainly can't avoid being alone with Arthur, not as his servant. It would be noticed."

"I think this might be noticed anyway. I mean... It's Arthur. And me. And _Arthur_," Merlin added again for emphasis. "It's really, just, not... you know. _Right_. In any way. People are going to notice."

Gaius shook his head. "It won't be the first time a prince has slept with a servant. It won't cause too much fuss."

"Really? Because I think Uther might behead me anyway. Just for the fun of it."

"As long as Arthur attends to his duties, and doesn't talk about running off to get married, Uther won't care." Then, while Merlin was still boggling at Gaius' sudden senility -- he'd clearly forgotten Uther's quick temper and his executioners, and his definite plans for Arthur's future that definitely didn't include Merlin -- Gaius sighed and said, "Since you got yourself into this mess, I think you're going to have to get yourself out of it."

"That's why I came to see you," Merlin pointed out. "For a way out of it."

"Three weeks," Gaius said, shrugging. "Try to avoid Arthur's advances. Or indulge them. Whichever is easiest for you. I'll try to counsel Uther, reassure him that Arthur's a young man and young men are prone to sudden infatuations. We'll simply have to hope that sorcery isn't suspected."

"So I have to act as if everything's normal while Arthur's mooning over me?"

"I don't recall a lot of mooning," Gaius said, sounding almost normal. If a little amused.

"Huh. Well, no, there wasn't much mooning. Groping, but no--" Merlin snapped his mouth shut, and then added, "Can we forget I said that?"

"Certainly," Gaius agreed quickly. "In fact, I'm hoping to forget this entire conversation."

***

"You know what I don't get?" Arthur asks, nearly a month later, while Merlin's too busy hitching the blankets higher over his shoulder to pay much attention.

"Science? Girls? The basics of good manners?" Merlin mutters into the pillow and Arthur responds by lightly -- for Arthur, at least -- elbowing Merlin's side. Merlin squawks in protest but it doesn't actually hurt.

"No, you dunderhead," Arthur replies, curling up behind Merlin. Merlin would argue the insult, but when Arthur's breathing warm and moist against his neck, it's hard to care what names he gets called. "I was talking about this."

"This?"

"You and me. How this even started."

"You found me irresistible," Merlin says truthfully.

Arthur snorts. "Enchantment's more likely."

For a moment, Merlin's sure his heart stops beating. Then he swallows and asks, "Do you feel like you were under a spell?"

"I'd call you many things, Merlin, but magical isn't one of them."

Merlin tries very, very hard not to hyperventilate. "So, um, no spell? No running to the king to tell him you were ensorcelled?"

"Yes, Merlin. I'm going to go and _tell my father_ that I'm _bedding you_ and then try to blame it on a spell. Please try to remember that not everyone's as stupid as you look."

"Oy! I'm not--"

"You kind of are," Arthur interrupts and then kisses Merlin before he can splutter a reply.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback can be left here or on [Livejournal](http://out-there.livejournal.com/1042961.html?mode=reply).


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